Defining Life.

 How would you define something as being alive?

 What would that object have to have, be, or do in
order to meet your definition of being alive?
 Believe it or not scientists have come up with nine
qualifications for life.
 In other words you have come up with nine things
that a living thing must have, be, or do in order to be
alive.
 Your job is to come up with nine qualifications that
every organism must meet in order for them to be
“alive.” (you may take 10 minutes with your group
members to brainstorm.)
 As we go through the next few slides, ask
yourself if the living organisms you see have
all of the characteristics that you came up
with.
 If one does not have the characteristic, you
MUST cross it off your list.
RREACH N’ GO
 Stimulus: something that elicits or
accelerates a physiological or psychological
activity or response
 includes eating, physical activity, etc.
 A trait that is inherited in your DNA and is
passed down from generation to generation.
It helps an organism survive. Ex. Opposable
thumb on humans, wings on birds
 you have to be at least one
 maintaining internal balance by responding
to the environment– keeping
temperature/pH the same inside of yourself
 (DNA & RNA) you have to have both to be
considered alive
 you have parts that do specific jobs
 Unicellular vs. Multicellular
 Atom Molecule Organelle Cell
 Is the following alive? Why or why not?
 A Car
 A Mule
 A Robot